Vasa, one of the best-studied germ cell markers plays a critical role in germ cell development and differentiation in animals. Vasa deficiency would lead to male-specific sterility in most vertebrates, but female sterility in the fly. However, the role of the vasa gene involved in germ cell differentiation is largely elusive. Here, we first characterized the expression profile of vasa products in the Asian yellow pond turtle by quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction and fluorescence immunostaining. The results showed that vasa messenger RNA (mRNA) is initially detected in embryos at stage 16, and then dramatically increased in embryos at stage 19. In particular, like the sex-related genes, vasa mRNA exhibited differential expression in embryos between the male-producing temperature (MPT, 25°C) and the female-producing temperature (FPT, 33°C), whereas there was no difference in methylation levels of vasa promoter detected between FPT and MPT. In contrast, in the adult Asian yellow pond, the level of vasa mRNA was much higher in the testis than ovary. Moreover, the immunostaining on testicular sections and cells showed that Vasa protein was exclusively expressed in germ cells Weak but detectable in spermatogonia, highest in spermatocytes, moderate and concentrated in chromatid bodies in spermatids and spermatozoa, and bare in somatic cells. The expression profile of Vasa protein is similar in turtle species studied so far but distinct from those in fish species in this study. The findings of this study would provide new insights into our understanding of the conservation and divergence of the vasa gene, even other germ cell genes across phyla.Acute chest syndrome (ACS) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among children with sickle cell disease (SCD). Preventing hypoxemia by optimizing lung aeration during sleep remains a challenge.
To explore safety, feasibility, and tolerability of noninvasive, bi-level positive airway pressure ventilation (BiPAP) as preventative, supportive care for hospitalized, medically stable children with SCD on a general pediatric inpatient unit.
Retrospective chart review of patients ?22years of age with SCD admitted to the general pediatric inpatient unit from February 1, 2017 to March 1, 2020 for whom BiPAP was recommended as supportive care. Hospitalizations were excluded if patients were admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU), required BiPAP for respiratory failure, or used BiPAP at home for obstructive sleep apnea.
Twenty-three patients had 53 hospitalizations in which BiPAP was recommended. Fifty-two (98%) hospitalizations included acute SCD pain. Indications for BiPAP included prior ACS (94%), chest or back pain (79%), and/or oxygen desaturation (66%). On 17 occasions, patients already had mild to moderate ACS but were stable when BiPAP was recommended. BiPAP was used successfully during 75% of hospitalizations for a median of two nights. There were no adverse effects associated with BiPAP. PICU transfer for respiratory support occurred during three hospitalizations. In 26 hospitalizations of children at risk for ACS who tolerated BiPAP, 23 (88%) did not develop ACS.
BiPAP is safe, feasible, and well tolerated as supportive care for hospitalized children with SCD. Next steps include an intervention trial to further assess the efficacy of BiPAP on ACS prevention.
BiPAP is safe, feasible, and well tolerated as supportive care for hospitalized children with SCD. Next steps include an intervention trial to further assess the efficacy of BiPAP on ACS prevention.ABO-incompatible (ABOi) transplantation requires preemptive antibody reduction; however, the relationship between antibody-mediated rejection (AMR) and ABO-antibodies, quantified by hemagglutination (HA), is inconsistent, possibly reflecting variable graft resistance to AMR or HA assay limitations. https://www.selleckchem.com/products/k03861.html Using an ABH-glycan microarray, we quantified ABO-A antigen-subtype (A-subtype)-specific IgM and IgG in 53 ABO-O recipients of ABO-A kidneys, before and after antibody removal (therapeutic plasma exchange [TPE] or ABO-A-trisaccharide immunoadsorption [IA]) and 1-year posttransplant. IgM binding to all A-subtypes correlated highly (R2 ? .90) and A-subtype antibody specificities was reduced equally by IA versus TPE. IgG binding to the A-subtypes (II-IV) expressed in kidney correlated poorly (.27 ? R2 ? .69). Reduction of IgG specific to A-subtype-II was equivalent for IA and TPE, whereas IgG specific to A-subtypes-III/IV was not as greatly reduced by IA (p less then .005). One-year posttransplant, IgG specific to A-II remained the most reduced antibody. Immunostaining revealed only A-II on vascular endothelium but A-subtypes II-III/IV on tubular epithelium. These results show that ABO-A-trisaccharide is sufficient for IgM binding to all A-subtypes; this is true for IgG binding to A-II, but not subtypes-III/IV, which exhibits varying degrees of specificity. We identify A-II as the major, but importantly not the sole, antigen relevant to treatment and immune modulation in adult ABO-A-incompatible kidney transplantation.Hydroarylation reactions via C-H activation, which compensate for shortcomings of classical methods based on the Friedel-Crafts reaction, is one of the most attractive methods to synthesize substituted arenes. This Personal Account reviews our recent studies on iridium-catalyzed intermolecular hydroarylation of vinyl ethers, alkynes, bicycloalkenes, and 1,3-dienes, and intramolecular hydroarylation of m-allyloxyphenyl ketones, where asymmetric addition reactions are included. A cationic iridium catalyst, which is generated from chloroiridium [IrCl] and NaBArF 4 [ArF =3,5-(CF3 )2 C6 H3 ], or a hydroxoiridium [Ir(OH)] complex is effective in catalyzing the hydroarylation depending on the substrates. 1,5-Cyclooctadiene (cod), chiral dienes, and conventional bisphosphines function as ligands controlling the high reactivity and selectivity of the catalysts in the hydroarylation. H/D exchange reaction of alkenes by use of a key intermediate of the hydroarylation reaction is also described.